Timing may thwart vote to stop new Royals stadium

The citizen-led initiative petition that aims to force a public vote on the city’s plan to help fund a new Royals stadium near downtown may already be too late to stop the project.

Mayor Quinton recently said as much on “Mundo in the Morning,” a local radio talk show, when he was asked if the petition for a vote on the stadium could slow down the development.

“This train’s already left the station,” Lucas said. “I think we’ll get the necessary documents and deals signed, and a vote that comes after the fact, while incredibly interesting and perhaps detrimental to future projects in Kansas City, will not impact one where you’re already seeing movement.”

Election officials are working to verify the thousands of signatures submitted by Missouri Workers Power, an affiliate of labor groups Missouri Workers Center and Stand Up KC, to support a proposed ordinance requiring a public vote on any major stadium project. A city spokesperson said the election officials have until 5 p.m. Friday to finish the process.

The aim of the petition is to give Kansas City voters the final say on whether the city provides up to $600 million of public funding for a new Royals stadium in the Crown Center area. The team is planning to build a $1.9 billion stadium where the current Hallmark headquarters stands on Gillham Road.

But the earliest the petition-prompted ordinance could appear on the ballot is during the November general election. A vote on the project itself would come even later.

Lucas has said previously that the plan is to begin construction of a new baseball stadium as early as this year, meaning a deal between the city and the Royals could be struck before voters get a chance to enact the proposed ordinance.

A spokesperson for Lucas’ office did not immediately respond to request for further comment on Thursday.

In response to Lucas’ appearance on the radio, the Missouri Workers Center called his comments “anti-worker” and “anti-democracy.” The progressive labor advocacy group again pointed to Jackson County voters rejecting a sales tax in 2024 that would have helped pay for a new Royals stadium in the Crossroads.

“Now, instead of respecting the will of the same electorate, he is doing everything in his power to avoid giving the people the final say,” the group said of Lucas.

Timeline

City codes show that a citizen-led initiative petition that collects enough verified signatures puts the proposed petition to the City Council. The council members then have 60 days to consider it before it can be sent to the public vote.

The next standard election, the Aug. 4 primary, is less than 60 days away, suggesting that the proposed ordinance could not appear on the ballot until the Nov. 3 general election.

Lucas said on the radio show that the petition can lead to a vote in November or next April, but it would be too late to apply to the Royals stadium project. He also said the petition can’t “just freeze government action for two years.”

“I have a little over a year left as mayor,” Lucas said. “What I’m not going to do is be neutered by threats.”

Lucas added that the city will work “expeditiously” to get the deal done so the stadium will be open by 2030. However, the stadium project still has several key checkpoints to pass before construction can begin.

City staff are still negotiating with Royals officials over how much funding the city will provide. And the city and the Royals still need to secure funding from the state that has yet to be determined.

The city will also need to hammer out development and community benefit agreements with the team, which could include the Royals contributing to the local area or setting specific employment and wage promises. Each of those plans will also need to be approved by the City Council.

Lucas said in a statement to The Star earlier this month that discussions for those agreements are “well underway.”

“We will continue to look forward to engagement with all members of our community to ensure good paying jobs are a key part of the project,” Lucas previously said.

Labor divide

The Missouri Workers Center and its affiliate groups argue that the stadium is a waste of public tax dollars that should go toward other city needs.

The group said that the city’s funding of the project does not support working-class people because it does not help address their needs, like the rising cost of rent and access to health care.

“Our organization values development that means working families have a chance at truly living, not just barely surviving as too many are forced into amid a cost-of-living crisis caused by the unbridled greed of the ultrawealthy,” the group said.

City officials have said sales taxes generated in and around the new stadium would help pay off bond debt for the project. Lucas has argued that is a responsible way to pay for the stadium, and it would spare the city’s general fund dollars that are used to pay for core city services.

Lucas has also argued that a new stadium would boost the local economy. He said during the radio show that the petition amounts to an effort to stop the city from creating new workforce opportunities.

Meanwhile, the city’s largest building and construction labor groups support the project. Officials for local unions and trade associations say the project would boost the city’s economy by creating new construction jobs.

Mike Talboy, political director for The Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, told the City Council in April that the new stadium would help generate more tax revenue that can be used to benefit the entire city.

“The revenues generated will allow us as a city to move forward and fund things that we also need to go fund and need to find revenues for,” Talboy said. “And we’ll keep our baseball team right here in Kansas City.”